The Syrian-Turkish Solidarity Symposium was held in Ankara on the 23rd of July 2011. The list of participants and the final declaration are below.

Participants from Turkey:

– Prof. Dr. Oya Akgönenç
(Ufuk University – Former Parliamentarian)

– Prof. Dr. Ümit Akkoyunlu
(Chair of the Turkmen Advisory Council) 

– Dr. Züheyir Amber
(Former Parliamentarian)

– Mehmet Cengiz
(Deputy Chair of the Workers’ Party – Lawyer) 

– Bülent Esinoğlu
(Deputy Chair of the Workers’ Party – Chief of the Ankara Bureau of the National Strategy Center) 

– Mehmet Bedri Gültekin
(Vice-Chair of the Workers’ Party)

– Erdoğan Karakuş
(Retired General)

– Prof. Dr. Semih Koray
(Deputy Chair of the Workers’ Party) 

– Prof. Dr. Hasan Ünal
(Gazi University) 

– Prof. Dr. Mehmet Yuva
(Damascus University) 

– İlker Yücel
(Chair of the Turkish Youth Union) 

Participants from Syria:

– Dr. Bessam Abu-Abdullah
(Damascus University-Diplomat)

– Dr. Mikhael Awad
(Syrian Communist Party)

– Hamzeh Minzer
(Kasyun Newspaper-Member of the National Dialog Council)

– Safa Muhammed
(ANB Television – Lebanon)

– Miyas Yunus
(Economist- Member of the Syria Youth Stair Movement)

The Syrian-Turkish Solidarity Symposium organized by Workers’ Party (Turkey) National Strategy Center was held at Ankara Business Park Hotel on 23 July 2011. University professors, representatives of political parties and mass organizations and journalists from Turkey and Syria participated in the symposium and discussed in their presentations issues concerning “Relations between Turkey and Syria”, “Military, Political and Regional Consequences of a Possible Military Intervention to Syria”, “What is Going on in Syria? – From the Eyes of Observers”. The participants have decided to make the following joint declaration to the public opinion.

Turkey and Syria, whose common civilization and cultural background goes back into the depths of history, are presently faced with common threats. The source of these threats lies in the “Greater Middle East Project” of USA, who is trying to reshape the Middle East along its own interests, and the “Greater Israel Plan”, which comprises the core of GMEP. Today, Turkey’s territorial integrity cannot be defended without defending Syria’s territorial integrity, and Syria’s territorial integrity cannot be defended without defending Turkey’s territorial integrity. 

Common threats are to be countered with common forces. US imperialism, which now is on a decline due to its military failures and the global economic crisis, has focused all its hopes on ethnic and religious separatism along with provoking hostility between our countries. Disinformation and falsified news that are being disseminated by Western-led news agencies concerning what is going on in Syria have thus reached incredible dimensions. We herewith invite all journalists, political parties, trade unions, professional chambers, administrators of mass organizations and whoever wishes, to visit Syria in order to see the naked reality with their own eyes, and we declare that we shall provide all kinds of assistance to that end. We firmly believe that our countries’ peoples shall strengthen their solidarity and thereby render the plans of imperialism unsuccessful through their joint struggle. 

The construction of a “West Asian Union” including Turkey, Syria and other countries in the region on the basis of “mutual respect to territorial integrity and sovereignty, non-aggression, non-interference into internal affairs, equality and mutual interest” and that will adopt the principle of “peaceful coexistence”, shall change the balance of forces in the world in favor of the Developing World and lead up the progression of humanity. For that purpose, in our symposium, it has been resolved that; a “West Asia Union Congress” with also efficient and extensive participation of representatives from the other countries and peoples in the region shall be held on the next autumn. 

We hereby declare to the public that, we shall resolutely carry on our works and activities that will strengthen solidarity between our peoples for the purpose of building step by step such a union that will defuse the threats which are directed to our countries.